Walking the West Vancouver Seawall

I am not dancing in the rain, but I enjoy its drumming on my umbrella as my wellies (read: Wellington boots) splash in puddles while walking the seawall in West Vancouver.

As a non-indigenous Vancouverite, I’d rather cocoon on a wet day, but the cocktail of marine and mountain air of the Northwest rainforest climate is invigorating and addicting, rain or shine.

Something About The Seawall

Walking the seawall from downtown Vancouver to the North Shore is a popular activity. Downtown, it’s a paved waterfront promenade some 35 kilometres (21.1 miles) long. It connects the Convention Center on Coal Harbour to Kitsilano, by looping around False Creek, sneaking under both Granville and Burrard Bridges, and stretching to English Bay before surrounding Stanley Park (8 kilometres/4.1 miles).

It continues to the North Shore via the 1.5-kilometres (.93 miles) pedestrian lane across the Lion’s Gate Bridge. At the end of it, turning left leads to a short, wooded trail and the dog park, before merging with the West Vancouver Centennial Seawall (from the 100th anniversary of the municipality). It then stretches over 1.7 kilometres (1.05 miles) to Dundarave Village.

The seawall is usually divided into a lane for walkers and one for bikers and inline skaters. It’s for walkers only in West Vancouver, plus a grassy lane for dogs, between 18-24^th streets.

My walk begins in West Vancouver, at Dundarave Village, at the western end of the Centennial Seawalk. After taking the bus to Dundarave, this starting point allows anyone staying downtown to enjoy the drive through the West Vancouver villages (hence, on the left side of the Lions Gate Bridge). Then return downtown via two options:

From Marine Drive, walk back towards downtown across the Lions Gate Bridge. Continue through Stanley Park to Georgia Street.
Return downtown by bus, from the Park Royal bus stop on Marine Drive or at the entrance of the Lions Gate Bridge.

From Dundarave to the Lions Gate Bridge, the ocean is on my right. Up on the left, two crouched, lion-shaped peaks stand guard on the North Shore Mountains. Don’t be surprised if they hide in fog or clouds as you prepare for a snapshot! The symbol of Vancouver, they gave their name to Lionsgate Films and the B.C. Lions football team.

The Centennial Seawall from Dundarave to Ambleside

Before I get started by the Dundarave Pier and Beach House Restaurant, I give a push to the Friendship Globe. It’s a 2.5-ton ball of black granite that floats on a thin pressurized layer of water, a gift from the German community. It’s one of the landmarks of the beach area, along with some play structures (and public toilets).

On the ocean side along the way, large boulders keep erosion from tidal surges at bay. Retaining stone walls protect the small gardens of a row of individual houses.

Farther on, a cluster of high rises faces the ocean and Stanley Park like sentinels. Kayaks, sailboats, barges, tugboats, freighters, and cruise ships occasionally pass by. With unobstructed views, all the way to Vancouver Island, the price of real estate is in the “Vanhattan” range.

Walking the seawall is like looking at a picture book. Every stretch offers something different. Here, it’s beach art such as the Granite Assemblage and driftwood sculptures, or multiple mini inukshuks (cairns: piled up rocks to signal special places). There, it’s a quaint community garden. Here and there, donated benches with messages on metal plaques invite walkers to rest and take it all in.

When I come upon Larson Park play structures, only a few kids with endless energy romp the grounds while their parents enjoy a few deep breaths. On the beach, logs of pine, hemlock, or cedar have escaped from the booms tugged to the sawmills of Squamish (a town located halfway between Vancouver and Whistler). They furnish the beach for visitors to lean, sit, or lie on. Today, the logs are inhospitably wet, but die-hard rain joggers use them to stretch.

The heritage houses along the way offer a bit of history. The Navvy Jack House was built in 1861, by John Thomas, a Welsh immigrant and gravel worker turned entrepreneur. It will soon be restored self-sustainably into a coffee shop. The Silk Purse house repurposed as an arts center recalls the romantic summer cottages typical of the late 1800s.

It has been 15 minutes since I began my brisk walk. The seawall has detoured behind the few homes along the beach. I further detour across Bellevue Avenue for a coffee-to-go from Crema Café. Vancouverites love coffee and often read the daily Vancouver Sun outside, under an otherwise-meant-to-be sun umbrella.

The Last Stretch

Back on track, I walk behind Hollyburn Sailing Club and towards Ambleside Beach. Screeching seagulls occasionally drop mussel shells… or something else.

I pass by the Ferry Building Gallery, another heritage house. It’s all that’s left of that service between the North Shore and Vancouver before the Lions Gate Bridge opened, in 1938. In early August, the Harmony Arts Festival takes place around here. Music performances, an art and crafts market, food vendors, and the sounds of different languages reveal the ethnic diversity of the local community. And ever-so-present are the sculptures by Squamish Nation artists: the Spirit of the Mountain at Ambleside Landing, and the Welcome Figure on the beach.

In today’s weather, no picnickers relax in the lush grass (the rain has its perks). A birthday party is nevertheless set up under one of the pergolas while kids frolic around.

My walk ends at the dog park, close to the Lions Gate Bridge where the Capilano River meets the ocean. And where the salmon migrates back. I enjoy what’s left of my coffee while mutts and pedigrees mingle, play, and hold court.

The rain has stopped. I close my umbrella, ready for my half-hour walk back under grey bulging clouds that tell me I’ll likely open it again soon.

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